Calling Poms 'whingers' is racist, says watchdog

From The Age:

PORTRAYING Poms as whingers is racist, the advertising watchdog said yesterday in a ruling it hopes will bring clarity to an issue that appears to be foremost in the minds of Australian advertisers: how to bash a Pom and get away with it.

A radio ad for a beer in which a group of Englishmen are heard whingeing and moaning to the tune of Land of Hope and Glory was ordered off air by the Advertising Standards Board.

The ad was part of a campaign to promote an extra cold beer and played on the widely held belief that an Englishman can consume his beer only at room temperature.

Last month the board dismissed complaints about posters for the same beer, ruling the term "Pom" on its own was a playful and affectionate one that characterised the rivalry between the two nations.

Complaints over a car ad urging people to "Tonk a Pom", a colloquial term for knocking a ball out of a sportsground, were similarly dismissed.

But yesterday the watchdog said Pommy-bashing had gone too far and the radio ad was vilifying Englishmen. A spokesman for Tooheys New, whose chief executive is English, said the company was disappointed but had pulled the ad.

It's getting mildly ridiculous when it comes to this. It also distracts from real issues of race too. Let's be honest here, English white Anglo-Saxon protestants (which the majority of Poms still are) are hardly a **** upon minority, are we?

"The PFA does not represent players when they have broken the law and been convicted on non-football matters."- Gordon Taylor in 2009 following Marlon King's release after a prison sentence for sexual assault & ABH

It's getting mildly ridiculous when it comes to this. It also distracts from real issues of race too. Let's be honest here, English white Anglo-Saxon protestants (which the majority of Poms still are) are hardly a **** upon minority, are we?

The thing that concerns me is we can call someone of Asian descent "poppadom" (Big Brother), and all hell brakes loose, Jade Goody, however annoying, is now a hate figure for being a bit naive.. But it takes a hell of a lot to get any reaction to the abuse of a white person.. Not an "opressed minority", but there are huge double standards at work in the nanny state western world..

Originally Posted by vic_orthdox

Don't like using my iPod dock. Ruins battery life too much.

Originally Posted by benchmark00

Thanks Dick Smith. Will remember to subscribe to your newsletter for more electronic fun facts.

The thing that concerns me is we can call someone of Asian descent "poppadom" (Big Brother), and all hell brakes loose, Jade Goody, however annoying, is now a hate figure for being a bit naive.. But it takes a hell of a lot to get any reaction to the abuse of a white person.. Not an "opressed minority", but there are huge double standards at work in the nanny state western world..

You've got a point, to some degree, but have you actually paid any attention to what else was going on in that Big Brother house? It really was far more than just somebody being naive about someone's race/culture, it was outright hostility.

"Youre known for having a liking for men who look like women."
- Linda

"FFS I'm sick and tired of having to see a bloke bend over to pick something up or lean over and see their arse crack. For christ's sake pull your pants up or buy some underpants you bogan because nobody want's to see it. And this is a boat building shed (well one of them) not a porn studio."
- Craig

You've got a point, to some degree, but have you actually paid any attention to what else was going on in that Big Brother house? It really was far more than just somebody being naive about someone's race/culture, it was outright hostility.

I just wonder if there would have been the same outrage had it been two coloured girls abusing a white girl.. Although Jade and co were totally out of order and wrong, it didn't half give ammunition to some bandwagon jumpers, quick to play the race card..

Although its a different topic really, IMO Jade Goody is too stupid to be properly racist, and is absolutely representative of a whole slew of people in the UK.. Looks and all

Anyway, the most important aspects of this kind of thing will be related to historical use and context, as well as (perhaps most importantly) power relationships. People complain a bit about it being a minefield, but to be honest, it really is a minefield. Sometimes we might make observations on "victim mentality", and there's something to be said for that - at certain points positions establish and reverse, and empires rise and crumble. But then again, many grievances people have of various races have origins that aren't that far back in the past, or indeed, ones that are quite ongoing.

The problem with some of the "political correctness" talk is that it's a bit afraid to spell out why it treats certain circumstances differently to others, which fuels a fair bit of righteous indignance where people don't discern between substantive and formal equality. To me, it's a matter of context, though it sadly can be a complicated matter at times. And in general, people don't like complicated explanations, particularly when it pertains to acceptable and unacceptable behaviour.

I just wonder if there would have been the same outrage had it been two coloured girls abusing a white girl.. Although Jade and co were totally out of order and wrong, it didn't half give ammunition to some bandwagon jumpers, quick to play the race card..

Although its a different topic really, IMO Jade Goody is too stupid to be properly racist, and is absolutely representative of a whole slew of people in the UK.. Looks and all

Haha what a pathetic ruling, we've been calling Aussies 'convicts' for ages and I don't see how it's any worse than what they've done in the adverts.

The stereotypes are always rolled out for Aussie beers on UK TV and they don't complain. It's not like it's inaccurate either, to the outside world I'd imagine we do appear to be whingers.

Look at the examples on here.....SP and Rich.

Oh and Brumbers, please don't avoid the filter.

A True Champion - Bob. Rest in peace. 15/04/06"People today have too big a devil and too small a God"
- Stephen Currie"The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" Psalm 27:1

He didn't really try to avoid it, more a case of the filter not doing it's job.

Last edited by andyc; 27-01-2007 at 07:37 AM.

Originally Posted by flibbertyjibber

Only a bunch of convicts having been beaten 3-0 and gone 9 tests without a win and won just 1 in 11 against England could go into the home series saying they will win. England will win in Australia again this winter as they are a better side which they have shown this summer. 3-0 doesn't lie girls.

bah it's pathetic... a case of PC going to far imo. (i'll be jumped upon for saying it but afaic there's no denying it)

Don't see why you'd be jumped on - this is an issue of political correctness, in the sense that it's a pointless and over the top attempt to avoid offending people. The problem people crying PC is when it is in fact a perfectly legitimate complaint, like the Big Brother thing Langeveldt mentioned.

It might be the fact that the word 'racist' has evolved from its literal meaning. It gets slightly tedious that whenever the word is used, people jump up and say, well, they're not a race so it's not racist, when it's quite obvious, from my perspective anyways, that in the common vernacular the word now includes anything derogatory against a 'peoples' or 'nationality' and not just a race.

It might be the fact that the word 'racist' has evolved from its literal meaning. It gets slightly tedious that whenever the word is used, people jump up and say, well, they're not a race so it's not racist, when it's quite obvious, from my perspective anyways, that in the common vernacular the word now includes anything derogatory against a 'peoples' or 'nationality' and not just a race.

Haha yeah. It's a pretty silly complaint really. Racism obviously refers to prejudice against any sort of regional or racial group, not just people seperated in particular genetic ways. I mean, "Africans" aren't a race either, but saying that African people shouldn't be allowed to live in a certain area is still racist. It's just a ridiculous distinction to make.